


kwon soonyoung and other magical creatures

by chanstellation



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Soonyoung is a witch, classmates to friends to lovers i guess, eventual junhao, eventual meanie, jihoon needs protection, pretend the 97 and the 96 line are the same age, side chuuves and hyewon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:28:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23381692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chanstellation/pseuds/chanstellation
Summary: “dude, i don’t know how to tell you this but you’re being followed by a ghost who’s trying to kill you”or : soonyoung is a witch and tries to protect jihoon from the evil ghost following him.
Relationships: Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi & Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Comments: 29
Kudos: 107





	1. part one : sage leaves

**Author's Note:**

> hi i'm still a kpopie !
> 
> god knows i'd die for soonhoon so here's a fanfic i came up with during an exam !! also this hasn't been proofread so lmk if you see any mistakes 
> 
> as always feedback is appreciated !!

ever mind the rule of three.

three times your acts return to thee.

this lesson well, thou must learn 

thou only gets what thee dost earn.

soonyoung doesn’t mean to stare. well, he kind of does but he doesn’t mean for it to become a habit. it starts on the 7th of may when, after the music club’s show, soonyoung somehow starts having the biggest crush on the cherry haired boy in his class. it starts as an innocent crush, just some staring here and there, casually thinking about him whenever he listens to cheesy love songs on his car radio and it soon drifts into writing his name on rose petals and wearing at least one pink item everyday hoping the boy will eventually fall in love with him. 

he doesn’t know when or how he started paying more attention to him than to any of his classes, or how now jihoon occupies 50% of his thoughts (maybe if he didn’t wear black ripped jeans or had the softest and most adorable laugh, maybe if he didn’t have patches of  _ every single one _ of soonyoung’s favourite bands on his bag or dyed his hair every other month-it’s an ashy grey at the moment-, maybe if he wasn’t smarter than everyone in the class or couldn't play at least 5 instruments and yeah, maybe soonyoung  _ does _ know how it happened).

and somehow, after a year and a half, soonyoung is kind of glad he did because it might somehow save the other boy’s life. it happens suddenly, like most changes in auras happen, one day he comes to school and instead of the bright white that usually surrounds jihoon he can only see black. there aren’t many explanations to sudden aura changes : demons, ghosts or tragic accidents. worry overtakes soonyoung because none of the options are good news. except there’s no way he can know if jihoon is going through a hard time or if a dark spirit is making him go through it. 

soonyoung keeps his attention on jihoon for the entirety of his morning classes until he decides he needs to ask him. thing is they’ve never really spoken (except for soonyoung’s poor attempts at conversation last year when he still had hope the boy could grow into liking him, but he tries not to think about those times) and jihoon is  _ known _ for being bad at making conversation and not opening up to people he doesn’t know. except when he’s around wonwoo or jun, he doesn’t think he’s ever seen the short boy laugh and that says a lot. so really, when soonyoung approaches him, he doesn’t expect a lot, especially not jihoon opening up to him about some theoretical tragedy that’s happening to him. but what happens is even better, the darkness in his aura fades until it disappears when he stands right behind him. 

_ a ghost. and not a good one. _ it’s easy to tell because demons don’t fear witches, especially vulnerable witches like him and ghosts -unless they decide to possess humans- are quite literally harmless. a feeling of protectiveness takes over soonyoung and it’s totally obvious to him that if the only solution to reduce the ghost’s hold over the grey haired boy is his presence, he’ll do it -even if it means following him around and maybe stalking him to make sure he’s always safe. 

“so you’re just going to follow him around ?” mingyu asks, at lunch while loudly munching on his kimchi. “sounds like a terrible idea.”

“well, i’m not just going to let him walk around with a ghost following him. besides i don’t really have anything better to do so..”

“college applications, study for both your school and witch exams, finish collecting all the plants you’ve been talking about for months, go to the studio, do you want me to go on ?” mingyu asks, knowingly. 

“i think soonyoung is a smart boy who knows what to do”, seokmin interrupts

“see this is where i disagree” and soonyoung turns his attention away from the two boys, already knowing where this going -mingyu listing his bad ideas and seokmin saying it was dumb but still funny. 

soonyoung is stubborn so he starts following jihoon. it starts only at school then following him to the bus and then taking a different bus to go back home. soonyoung quickly notices that if he carries sage in his right hand and a drop of aloe sap with him, his protective aura grows and he doesn’t have to stand so close to him. and yeah it gets kinda creepy, he’s not exactly sure how he manages to keep it up for a week until, of course, one day, jihoon notices. it happens exactly 9 days after he starts following him and even though it was expected, it still startles the older boy. 

“why are you following me ?” he asks him as they get down of the bus a few meters away from jihoon’s house. 

soonyoung freezes, probably looking like a deer caught in the headlights.  _ what the fuck do i answer to that _ . 

“i’m not.. following you.”  _ very convincing _ . 

“do you think i’m fucking dumb ? listen i don’t care if we’re in the same class, if you keep stalking me, i will report it to the principal.” he looks angry as he crosses his arms and it makes soonyoung feel all sorts of uncomfortable.

“no ! no it’s not.. it’s not like that”  _ think you absolute idiot _ . “listen, i don’t know how to tell you this but you’re being followed by a ghost who’s trying to kill you”

_ congratulations you absolute dumb fuck _ . he knows he’s not supposed and probably not even allowed to tell people about magic or any of that at least until he’s passed his witch exam. this could seriously affect his grade and even his future. but he really couldn’t think of any lie to tell jihoon -he also felt that the latter would be able to tell that he was lying and that was even scarier.

“a ghost ? trying to kill me ?” he scoffs and soon enough he’s full on laughing leaving soonyoung to wonder what’s so funny. 

“why are you laughing ?” the taller boy is now the one with his arms crossed, in confusion. 

“this is the lamest but also the best excuse i’ve ever heard.”

“i’m serious ! a ghost is actually trying to harm you and i’m trying to protect you from it !” 

“and how are you gonna do that ?” he asks, finally serious again. “with those leaves in your hand ?”

soonyoung starts to blush, feeling embarrassed. he is proud to be a witch but he knows a lot of people don’t understand what they do. he is disappointed that  _ his _ lee jihoon is one of those people. 

“th-they’re sage leaves. we use them as protection and to bring peace and safety and-”

“we ?” the ash-haired boy asks, with a pretentious tone. soonyoung looks down at his feet.

“yeah, we. witches.” he hears jihoon snort and footsteps walking away from him.

“stay away from me kwon soonyoung. i don’t need protection from an idiot like you.”

the witch, left alone, doesn’t even dare look up. he’s never felt so embarrassed in his life.

by the dragons light,

on this (month) night,

I call to thee to give me your might,

by the power of three,

I conjure thee,

to protect all that,

surrounds me.


	2. part two : black salt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's chapter two hehe i'm not sure how long this will be tbh but we still have a long way to go jdgzj !! feedback is always welcome !!

lady of luck come out of your hiden course

bless your light upon me as the light of the moon shines above

and in the light of luck will be blessed i, when the moon is next to be full.

jihoon tries not to think much of it. soonyoung is an idiot, he’s always been an idiot - _ maybe _ a cute idiot, but an idiot nevertheless. and making shit up about ghosts just makes him a creepy idiot. he forgets about it by the time he gets to his room and starts playing the guitar. he’s working on a new song and he’d like to have it done before exam season -which is coming up quickly. 

the night falls quickly on him and he’s almost done with the first part of the lyrics when he realises it’s almost midnight. he knows he could stay awake for at least another 3 hours but he also knows that he’ll be exhausted the next day and he can’t let that happen or else his parents will get mad and he does  _ not _ need that. he kisses his mom goodnight before falling asleep thinking about chubby cheeks and black hair. 

he wakes up a few hours later feeling. well, feeling  _ watched _ . he tries to convince himself it’s just his mind messing with him and he curses kwon soonyoung and his stupid joke until he starts feeling pain in his wrist.  _ that’s it _ . he turns on the light and looks around his room and sees nothing. he checks the time, 3:43am. at least, he can still sleep for another 3 hours. before he turns off the light he decides to check his wrist. 

_ “he was right” _ is written on his wrist with what seem to be ashes. jihoon almost throws up from the sudden fear and regrets not having the pseudo witch's phone number to ask if this is all a  _ really _ bad prank that his friends asked him to prepare. he feels his heart about to jump out of his chest and there is no way he’s ever going to fall back asleep. 

“what the fuck” is the what the black haired boy says as jihoon drags him out of the classroom before 1st period. “i thought you said to stay away from you.”

“is this a joke to you ?” the short boy asks, stopping to look at him. “because if it is, it’s really not my fault, i barely got any sleep last night.”

“because of what i said ? you clearly didn’t believe me.” soonyoung says in confusion and jihoon thinks he can hear hurt in his voice but he can’t bring himself to care. 

“i woke up at ass o’clock in the morning with ash on my wrist you dumbfuck. that was scarier than anything you’ve ever said to me” 

“you- at what time did you wake up ?” the older boy answers, with a serious and worried look jihoon has never seen on him. it somehow makes him nervous too because  _ maybe _ he really doesn’t have anything to do with this.

“i woke up at 3:40 in the morning with something written on my arm in smushed ashes. i-i thought you did it”

“exactly how do you want me to do that jihoon ?” he sounds exasperated and the ash haired boy feels dumb for even thinking that it could be him so he just looks down at his feet.  _ the tables have turned _ . “what was written on your wrist ?” and to that he feel he can’t answer because jihoon is a sagittarius, a stubborn motherfucker and he doesn’t want to admit that the other boys is right when that quite literally was what was on his wrist. after a few seconds of silence, the black haired boy sighs. “can’t you just show me ?”

“see, i like to shower in the morning-”

“you washed it off ?!” the gemini sighs again “please tell me you remember what was written or at least took a picture of it”

“i did not take a picture, i would like to forget about this whole night, thank you very much.” third sigh. this is getting repetitive. “but i do remember what it said.”

“ok then tell me.” after a few seconds of silence jihoon understands that it’s useless to keep a secret from the only person that seems to be able to help him. 

“he was right.” he says at last. 

“who?”

“that’s what was written you dumbass.”

soonyoung doesn’t answer. he just looks at him with intense eyes that make him feel small, smaller, the smallest. before he can say anything the bell rings and jihoon decides to escape the awkward situation. he barely makes a step when the taller boy grabs his arm and stops him, towering over him.

“you have to sit next to me. whoever’s following you is feeding off your fear and i can only protect you if i’m close to you.”

“lee, kwon, class is about to begin.”

and that’s how he finds himself awkwardly walking away to sit next to the witch in the back of the class. jun and wonwoo AND mingyu and seokmin stare at them like they had grown a third head. 

“if you’re lying to me i will kill you and your stupid friends. understood ?” soonyoung giggles and smiles brightly at him. 

they have lunch all together which isn’t that bad because jun and minghao (a friend of soonyoung’s who’s in another class) already know each other and wonwoo, mingyu and seokmin somehow find plenty of things to talk about. 

“we’ll go to my house after school and we’ll figure out a way to protect you without you having to be in my presence.”

jihoon tries not to choke and silently nods, feeling himself turn red at the thought of going to soonyoung’s house. 

it’s not that jihoon likes soonyoung because he doesn’t know him and the last 24 hours have proven that he doesn’t  _ want  _ to know him but soonyoung is a cute, dumb, pretty boy and crush or not, being alone with a pretty boy makes him nervous. especially when said boy tries to look out for him even though he doesn’t know him. 

the walk back to soonyoung’s house is spent in silence because a) the latter has been lost in his thoughts all day long and b) jihoon is both too tired and too awkward to try and have a conversation with him. they arrive in front of the type of house his brother would describe as witch houses when they were kids and he guesses he wasn’t so wrong. 

he kind of expects it to be dark and only lit by a few candles, maybe with a black cat and a weird smell. actually, soonyoung’s house is just like him, bright. the walls are painted white, it has many -many- pictures of different girls who he guesses are soonyoung’s sisters and some of him, different plants growing here and there and three ragdoll cats sleeping on the stairs. 

“sorry it’s a little messy.” the taller boy says before bending down to say hi to his cats. 

jihoon can hear him coo and talk to his cats as he awkwardly stands in the entrance. he only realises that he’s been dumbly staring at him when the boy turns around.

“hm, you can take your shoes off. my room is upstairs.” 

the short boy follows him upstairs and he’s almost out of breath when he reaches his room because of how exhausted he is. 

“you can lay on my bed while i go get my grimoire ! i’ll also ask my mom if she has any idea what to do.”

jihoon hums and, although he would normally just sit on soonyoung’s chair and wait for him, not comfortable sleeping in a stranger’s bed, he lays on the bed covers and hugs one of the tiger plushies that he finds there, feeling oddly comfortable thanks to the room’s scent and falling asleep within minutes. 

empty thoughts,

clear my mind,

i shall sleep

in no time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u liked it hehe let me know what u think in the comments ! 
> 
> find me on twt : @kiruyeol


	3. part three : staurolite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii i'm sorry for the late update ahhh quarantine has been killing my inspiration but i'm back on my shit !! hope yall enjoy this messy chapter !

Goddess, give me protection from the outside world,

let whatever people say about me not hurt,

let whatever I fear not bother me,

let all the mixed up feelings inside be released without harm.

**mingpup :** wdym he’s asleep in ur bed

**seokshine :** did y’all .. u know 

**soonie :** wtf seokmin he’s haunted

**seokshine :** is that the only thing stopping u

**soonie :** knee ways

**soonie :** i don’t think he got any sleep last night so he’s just sleep deprived

**mingpup :** will he be okay ?

**soonie :** oh yes, it’s just a ghost, it’s fine 

**soonie :** but the ritual is kinda long to make so he’ll have to wait 

**mingpup :** so you’ll have to hang out with him all the time until then ?

**soonie :** nah i’ll just have to make him protection seals 

**seokshine :** or……

**soonie :** what 

**mingpup :** you could stay with him ? just tell him u have to 

**seokshine :** u’d get to spend time with him and mingyu gets to see wonwoo 

**mingpup :** SHUT UP

**soonie :** i have so many questions but

**soonie :** he’s waking up

**mingpup :** do it coward ~~

**soonie :** bYE

it’s strange for soonyoung to have his year long crush lying asleep in his bed and he’s not sure how he feels about it yet. he looks so calm there, his mouth slightly open, the ghost’s hold completely gone in the safety of his house. jihoon’s arms stretch over his head as soonyoung puts his phone down.  _ he’s so cute _ . 

“hey sleepy head” he whispers as the other boy looks up to him, blinking slowly. it takes him a few seconds before he suddenly sits up, startling both of them.

“did i fall asleep ?”

“yeah but not for too long, like an hour ?”

“an hour ?” he almost screams as his cheeks redden. “why didn’t you wake me up ?” he sounds upset. soonyoung’s not sure why.

“well, i was gone for like 40 mins talking with my mom and looking through my grimoire and then you looked just.”  _ too cute. _ “peaceful.” now both of their cheeks have reddened. 

“whatever..” jihoon mumbles sitting more comfortably and running a hand through his hair. “did you find anything ?”

soonyoung’s face lights up and he sits on his bed, in front of the shorter boy, spreading between the two of them the different books, spells and stones he found. 

“i did some research and also talked to my mom and the ghost following you can’t be too bad if another ghost managed to penetrate his aura.”

“that sounds awful soonyoung, what the fuck.”

“i mean,” the witch giggles “that if another ghost managed to get close to you and write that on your wrist, to warn you, then the one following you is probably not too strong. he’ll be easy to cast out.” there’s a moment of silence between them. “if that makes any sense.”

“yeah it does” jihoon says, voice still sleepy. “so another ghost is following me ? why is he trying to warn me ? 

“ah, i mean, ghosts are everywhere all the time. they’re usually harmless but sometimes they turn bad.” the other boy looks deep in thoughts for a moment then nods. “anyways, i found a few spells including the easiest and less harmful one for you but, it’s gonna take me some time to prepare everything to actually carry it out.”

“how long ?” he looks up, hopeful. 

“um, like two weeks ? maybe three ?”

“so no sleep for two weeks” jihoon sighs. 

_ “you could just stay with him” _ . it was unfair to lie to him but it wasn’t actually going to harm him or anyone else. so he did. 

“it would be better if you stayed with me at all times. except when it’s impossible for you” jihoon looks at him like he grew a second head, blushing yet again. 

“i’m not going to like, move in with you.” he says, blushing. and that  _ really _ wasn’t what soonyoung meant. 

“no ! i mean.. in school and outside. i’ll give you seals and crystals to protect you when you’re home.” his cheeks are hot too now,  _ way to go _ . 

the short boy nods and after a few seconds gets up. 

“i should probably get going, it’s late.”

so they both go downstairs where the witch gives him a bag full of books, crystals and jars full of things he couldn’t name if he tried. he explains that he’ll have to paint the seals that he put the drawings of in one of the books on his windows and doors with black salt - _ ”what the fuck is that”, “just mix the water i gave you with the ashes from the jar and some regular salt you have at home _ ”- and try to carry the cross-shaped crystal whenever he’s not with soonyoung. 

the black-haired boy isn’t sure how to say goodbye so he just bows to him as jihoon leaves for the bus stop that is a few meters away from his house. when he finally locks the door and goes back to his room it feels like years have gone by since the morning. his heart is still racing a little because, today, he learned that jihoon needs at least an hour to properly wake up. during that hour his eyes blink more than usual and sometimes, his eyes stay shut for a few minutes. he also pouts a lot more. 

he makes sure to text him before going to have dinner with his family -because  _ yes _ , he gave him his phone number. 

**soonie :** hey i hope you made it home safe ! again, i’m sorry if i couldn’t really help much today but i’ll try to have everything done asap ! 

his mother and sisters tease him all throughout dinner because he keeps on dozing off and checking his phone every minute. at last, he gets an answer halfway through the movie he and his family are watching -more like were watching as his two older sisters and his mother are asleep and his younger sister is playing a game on her phone.

**ji :** sorry, i was having dinner. 

**ji :** hm. you helped a lot. thank you for that. 

**ji :** i guess i’m just a little overwhelmed by the whole situation.

**soonie :** that’s understandable yeah.. you’ll be fine though, nothing to worry about

**soonie :** i’ll make sure :D

**ji :** hm.. thank you. 

**ji :** i’m going to try to sleep. i’ll see you tomorrow ? 

**soonie :** yeah !! goodnight !

**ji :** gn. :)

oh Moon of light, 

guide me through the night. 

Without a fright, 

and may my dreams be bright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmm did it have too much dialogue ? i'm sorry i promise next chapter will be better !
> 
> as always lmk what u think it encourages me a lot ! 
> 
> you can find me on twitter : @kiruyeol !


	4. part 4 : horehound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hii ! im sorry for keeping you all waiting but i hope you all enjoy the chapter ! also hope you're all staying safe ! don't forget to wash your hands and stay home if you can !! 
> 
> let me know what you think in the comments !

I wish for a good day,

please grant it Queen of Fae,

please give me a good day.

it’s a little awkward at first, hanging out with the witch and his friends. maybe just for him because all their friends seem to get along just fine. but there’s something about soonyoung’s presence, soonyoung’s aura that is just so calming and he doesn’t usually feel this way around people he barely knows. but jihoon convinces himself that it’s just because the ghost disappears whenever he’s around the black haired boy -he ignores the way his heart flutters everytime soonyoung asks him if he’s okay, the way he always finds himself staring at him or the way he finds it so damn easy to just let him in.

they go to the park on friday afternoon, after school. wonwoo and mingyu sit under a tree and talk about books and video games, jun and seokmin try to get minghao to play hide and seek with them, to no avail, soonyoung and jihoon lay on the grass and the witch tells him the secret of plants. they go to the movies on saturday evening. mingyu, wonwoo and minghao find that they have a common interest for cinema, seokmin and jun make a bet to see who can finish their popcorn first, jihoon dozes off on soonyoung’s shoulder while holding the crystal he gave him, movie long forgotten.

they go to a fast food restaurant afterwards and sit across from each other but as soonyoung, mingyu and seokmin engage in a heated conversation about which hamburger tastes the best, jihoon can’t help but stare, stare, stare.  _ he has cute cheeks, i’d like to squish them _ , he bites into a fry to dismiss this thought.  _ he has nice hands, i’d like to hold them _ , he finishes his drink to push this one away.  _ he has pretty lips, i’d like to kiss them _ , he excuses himself to the bathroom to runaway from his mind. 

it’s slow, and nice, and warm, so warm he doesn’t even notice it at first, not until wonwoo asks him about it. it’s sunday and jihoon is on the phone with wonwoo as he gets ready to go to soonyoung’s house, officially to dye his hair, but in reality soonyoung needs him to finish the list of things he’ll need to get for the spell. they haven’t told wonwoo and jun about the ghost and don’t plan on telling them anytime soon.- “ _ i shouldn’t even have told you, i just did because you thought i was a creep”, “you were following me home, soonyoung”. _

“do you have a crush on him ?” wonwoo asks and jihoon chokes on air. 

“what the hell, no. he has a gemini stellium.”

“i don’t know what that means but okay. i was just wondering since you two are always together.”

“we’re just.. friends.” jihoon blushes,  _ are they ?  _

“it took you 4 months to warm up to jun when he got here in middle school, and a week into talking to soonyoung you’ve included him and his friends into our friend group AND you’re going to his place to dye your hair.” wonwoo tells him all that without looking up from his cat who seems to be getting the best belly rubs in his life.

“he’s just.. easy to be around. i don’t know, it’s weird. i feel nice around him, but i don’t have a crush on him. i don’t know him that well, yet.” and that’s another lie, because they spend all their time together, in and outside of school, and they have started talking on the phone every night ever since jihoon claimed he was too scared to fall asleep because of what had happened. jihoon now knows more about soonyoung and witchcraft than about his own mother. but wonwoo doesn’t need to know that. 

“i’m just saying, if you do or grow into having a crush on him, you can talk to me.” 

“thank you, big sap, but i’m okay. if i do start liking him though, i will 100% blame you for putting the idea in my head !” he puts on his jacket and starts lacing his shoes, ready to go-and excited. 

“yeah, whatever.” wonwoo snorts. 

“you can also talk to me when you stop being in denial about your crush on mister kim mingyu.” and to that, the other boy does look up and starts blushing. jihoon closes the door behind him and starts laughing. 

“is it that obvious ?” the tall boy starts petting his cat again, trying to hide his blush.

“almost as obvious as his crush on you.” to which his best friend turns even redder. “have you seen how clingy he is with you ? he only tries to act smart when you’re around as well, which is really funny.”

“shut up, he is smart.”

“alright, alright, i’ll leave your crush alone.” he hears wonwoo mumble a  _ “he’s not my crush _ ”, which he ignores. they continue bickering for a few minutes before jihoon hangs up when wonwoo tells him “to have fun with his boyfriend”.

soonyoung is a very surprising person, jihoon has found out this week, so really, he shouldn’t be surprised when he opens the door to find soonyoung holding a chicken in his arms. 

“it’s my sister’s, she has a few.” he says, leading jihoon into their garden. 

“how many do you have ?”

“chickens ? six i think.”

“i meant sisters.”

“ah, three sisters. but i like the chickens better.” they laugh as soonyoung finally puts the chicken down. “two of them are older and one is younger, all witches. it’s painful sometimes. even my little sister is better than me at witchcraft.”

“am i making a mistake by trusting you kwon soonyoung ?” at that, the witch starts laughing. 

“probably. but the spell is quite basic, it just needs a lot of preparation and energy which is why we have to wait. but even the babiest witch would be able to cast it.”

“so have you always done witchcraft ?” jihoon asks him as they’re going up the stairs to go into the black haired boy’s room. said boy blushes a little at the question. 

“uh, not really. i wasn’t really into it until i got to high school.” and that is, again, very surprising. “my mother and all my sisters were brought up as witches, and so was i but i never really, liked it ?” he sounds hesitant, jihoon is patient and attentive, he nods. “i don’t know why, i just didn’t like it, so it was hard for me to be close to my family even if they were constantly making efforts to include me in non-witch related things. and then one day i woke up wanting to be a witch and here i am now.” he smiles, shyly and and points to his shelves with books, jars and plants. “it was a lot of work to try and catch up to them and i’m still not there but i’m making my way little by little.”

“that’s amazing, you know.” he can’t stop himself from speaking. he feels so fond of this boy and if he didn’t have any self control he would be hugging him right now. he feels some sort of warmth in his stomach that he decides to name pride. “you’re working hard and you should be proud of yourself. i mean, i am.” the last words are almost whispered but soonyoung hears them and beams at him. 

it seems to be a repetitive scheme, to have them both looking at each other, blushing like idiots after one of them has said something mildly intimate. it’s soft and slow and it goes unspoken but somewhere between soonyoung’s bed, their now shared desk in school, and the flowers in the park, there was a switch, some kind of sparkle that wasn’t there before and that’s now too bright to ignore. and yet. 

star of love, burn so bright 

aid me in my spell tonight 

unite my true love to me

as I will it, so mote it be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i promise i'll try to update the next chapter faster !! i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to comment something it really motivates me and share if you can !! thank you so much 
> 
> find me on twitter : @kiruyeol !


	5. part 5 : hair dye

do you love me?

i need to know the answer. 

dragons eyes, and angels wings. 

now i touch the fairy ring.

do you like me? 

do you love me?

“you look like shouto like this.” soonyoung says when he finishes applying red hair dye on half of jihoon’s head. 

“are you saying that because of my daddy issues or because of my hair ?” 

it took him years to actually speak up about his relationship with his father to wonwoo and jun but he had casually told soonyoung about it one night, over the phone, when the witch had asked about his parents. “ _ my dad has been gone for a while now, i don’t really know him.”, “i’m sorry, that sucks.”, “it’s fine, my mom has a new husband. i don’t see them much but we get on well.” _ there had been a silence.  _ “i guess it just sucks that you can’t choose your family.” _ he had added,  _ “i think you can.” _

“both ?” they start laughing and soonyoung gets dye on his cheeks. “i guess that was predictable.”

“yeah, to be honest i’m surprised it didn’t happen before.”

“i look like mingyu when he’s around wonwoo.” 

they both start laughing again. jihoon told him about the conversation he had with wonwoo, the taller boy had replied by just showing him the text messages mingyu had sent him. just a few highlights were “he just smiled at me and i teared up”, “he has a cat soonyoung, do you understand ? 2 kittens, my heart can only take so much.”

“man, i hope they start dating before i finally manage to cast the spell.” 

they haven’t talked about what would happen after the spell. it was obvious that they would continue hanging out but soonyoung couldn’t help but worry. 

“jun and minghao have been flirting for the past 5 months and still aren’t dating. do you honestly think that mingyu and wonwoo will be first ?”

they end up bleaching a strand of soonyoung’s hair, his mother gives him a look but his older sister ruffles his hair and says it’s still as soft so she lets it go. jihoon has dinner with them for the first time. he has met his sisters -the two oldest, sooyoung and jungeun, and the youngest, hyejoo- and they’ve all been nothing but nice to him, although they do stare at him a lot and the witch is afraid it might scare his crush away. jihoon has only seen his mom a couple of times and never really had time to properly talk to her.

“so jihoon, how is your ghost ?” is the first thing she asks him. he chokes on the rice he was eating. 

“soonyoung says its hold hasn’t grown” he says, once he’s able to breathe properly again. “but it also hasn't weakened, i think.” soonyoung nods next to him with what could only be called adoration in his eyes. he knows that his sisters will tease him for hours after dinner but he honestly couldn’t care less. everytime jihoon was around him, it was like everything else faded and he was the only thing that ever mattered. 

“will you need my help to cast the spell, love ?” she’s talking to her son who shakes his head frantically, reluctantly taking his eyes off the smaller boy. 

“i’ll be alright, don’t worry.”

“i am worried.” jungeun says. “not for you but for the house. don’t start a fire again, please.”

“again ?” he hears jihoon whisper next to him. 

“it’s time for dessert !”

  
  


“you know you could sleep over one day. instead of going home and calling me even before you get in bed.” soonyoung says, walking the small boy to the door.

the thought of sharing a room with jihoon, to be able to see him wake up, to hear his voice as soon as he wakes up makes his heart beat faster but the blush on jihoon’s face as he considers it makes his whole body shiver.

“i’ll think about it.” they smile at each other for a moment. “thank you for today. dinner and the hair and just.. the company.” 

soonyoung is a very social person, it’s not hard for him to make friends. and the truth is he also needs his time alone, he likes being by himself. but when he’s with jihoon he doesn’t feel like that. he likes being with jihoon much better than being with his own self. 

“my pleasure, always.”

the now red-haired boy texts him a “got home safe. i’ll call u in 20. gotta shower.” and that’s soonyoung’s cue to wish his family a goodnight. he purposely ignores the “tell jihoon he can stay the night next time”. _ I already did. _

it’s easy most of the time, ignoring his crush on jihoon, because it has only been a week. but he knows that if he keeps going it’ll soon be impossible for him not to turn into a stuttering mess in front of the other boy. the hardest part, soonyoung thinks, is that he spends his time waiting for a fall, for a moment where jihoon will disappoint him or help him move on, but it never comes. worse thing is, jihoon turns out to match the idea soonyoung had of him, although it had previously seemed idealistic. 

“you look like an eboy” mingyu says the next day when he sees him before class. “the bleached hair and the dark circles is really doing it for me.”

“shut up, i stayed up talking to jihoon.” 

“phone sex is tiring isn’t it ?”

“i don’t know, i’ll ask wonwoo next time i see him.” soonyoung answers beaming as his friend starts blushing. 

nothing happens until fourth period when soonyoung goes to the library by himself to study for his upcoming witch exam. jihoon had almost forced him to go, saying that he would be fine on his own for a few hours as he was carrying all the charms the witch had given him. 

he decides to give himself a break after studying for a solid 30 mins and checks. he has 13 new messages and 7 missed calls from mingyu. his heart skips a beat as he unlocks his phone with one hand and starts collecting his things with the other hand. his heart skips a beat when he sees jihoon’s name on the screen. 

**mingpup :** jihoon looks so down when u’r not around it’s funny

**mingpup :** he looks so tired from last night bro </3

**mingpup :** ok but he genuinely looks not okay is it normal 

**mingpup :** soonyoung is it normal for him to be /this/ white

**mingpup :** SOONYIUNF

**mingpup :** PICK UP YOUR DAMN PHONE 

**mingpup :** HE JUST FAINTED

**mingpup :** WHAT DO WE DO

**mingpup :** he’s awake ?? i think ????? hardly 

**mingpup :** dude i don’t think this is normal please come here asap

**mingpup :** ok we’re taking him to the nurse’s office 

**mingpup :** hurry up bitch where are you

**mingpup :** i can’t believe he fainted when you left this is so dramatic 

**mingpup :** PICK UP YOUR PHONE YOU FUCKING ASS

**soonie :** just checked my phone ill b right there

**mingpup :** jeez finally

he gets there a couple of minutes later, out of breath after having run all the way up to the nurse’s office. all his friends are in the waiting room, mingyu trying his best to reassure wonwoo and jun zoned out on minghao’s lap, seokmin left alone playing a game on his phone to distract himself. they all look up to him when he barges in. 

“what happened ? i got here as fast as possible.” he says, trying to catch his breath. 

“he’s okay now” seokmin reassures him. “the nurse thinks he must have fainted from being tired and not eating well. he’s awake, she’s making him eat and then he’ll have to go back home.” 

he nods slowly and sits on the chair next to seokmin, giving wonwoo a reassuring smile when he sees him so worried. soonyoung knows that jihoon didn’t faint because of health reasons but because of the ghost. this means that the hold it has on the boy is growing much more quickly than he had originally anticipated. he’s going to need to find all the ingredients for the spell before it’s too late. 

ashes to ashes

spirit to spirit

take this soul

and banish this evil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiii i'm so sorry again for leaving for so long god almost a month


	6. part 6 - crystal ball

Goddess, i have gathered that I love

i present them in front of you

i ask that you protect them

they will be protected from any harm, damage, or any mental pain

the elements of nature will protect them best they can

“i told you i’m okay” jihoon says for the nth time as soonyoung tucks him into his bed. “i could’ve gone home you know.” 

“my mom agrees that after what happened you have to rest and i’d rather have you close to me.”

the witch sits next to him and his hand instinctively reaches for his hair. everything feels natural with soonyoung, everything they do for the first time feels like it’s been a thing for months. the short boy’s face turns the same colour as his hair. they stare at each other for a few seconds and jihoon almost thinks something is going to happen. he’s not sure how he feels about soonyoung yet. is it too soon to say it’s a crush ? probably. but in almost two weeks they’ve discovered more about each other than anyone else would have in months. he’s not sure what he feels but he’s sure he really,  _ really  _ wouldn’t mind having the witch’s lips on his right about now. 

“i’m going to read a little bit more about the spell and where i can find the ingredients. i’ll be back in a while you should just rest okay ?”

he holds himself back from rolling his eyes because it is  _ such _ a kwon soonyoung thing to break a moment. it’s cute, he thinks. 

“yeah, bye mom.” he pushes him off the bed and the black haired boy giggles on his way out.

if he were in any other room it would have been strange, to be here and look up at the fluorescent stars on the ceiling, listening to a soft playlist -that soonyoung made him to help him sleep-, invaded by soonyoung’s smell. but it’s not and it’s the familiarity of it all that feels so strange to jihoon. he can’t help but think about what wonwoo said. “ _ it took you 4 months to warm up to jun when he got here in middle school, and a week into talking to soonyoung you’ve included him and his friends into our friend group AND you’re going to his place to dye your hair”.  _

whatever. jihoon is not one to overthink things too much. he reaches out for soonyoung’s tiger plushie and holds it tightly before falling asleep.

he has a nightmare, again. apparently it’s a normal thing when a ghost tries to possess you. it’s still really annoying. he opens his eyes to the sight of soonyoung sitting at his desk, in front of the window, reading what he guesses is a grimoire. he looks beautiful with the 6pm sun shining on his face. he stays like this for a while, observing the other boy just being and existing and for the first time since the ghost appeared, he feels at ease. any trace of anger, fatigue or nervousness washes away. he’s not sure how much time goes by, but it ends when one of soonyoung’s cat jumps on the bed and startles the two of them. 

“i’m sorry, did luna wake you up ?” the taller boy says, taking the cat in his arms, looking much more concerned about the animal’s conditions than jihoon’s. 

“yeah actually, she did.” he says teasingly, frowning as he sits up. for some unknown reason, the taller boy starts laughing, like, full on laughing, shaking his head, still holding the poor cat. “why are you laughing ?” 

“you look like her” he finally says, holding luna next to jihoon’s face. and it’s not the first time the short boy hears it, wonwoo’s mom often compares her son and his two friends to cats. but hearing it from soonyoung ? it hits differently. he can feel himself turn red as the grin on the witch’s face grows.

“i don’t.” he looks away hoping the world would swallow him whole. 

“you doooo” soonyoung pinches his cheeks, which he soon regrets when the younger boy quite literally jumps on him, after making sure first that luna isn’t on the bed. they both stumble and fall heavily on the floor, giggles escaping their mouths. they stay like that for a moment, limbs entangled and their laugh filling the room. jihoon is grateful for moments like these where he feels normal again. he’s, overall, grateful for soonyoung. 

“hey” he says in what he hopes is a nice tone. soonyoung turns his head to look at him with stars in his eyes and jihoon’s heart breaks in the best way. “don’t worry about the spell too much okay ? you’re gonna do great. i believe in you.”

the witch looks flustered as his cheeks turn bright red and his face breaks into a beautiful smile. 

“i’ll try my best” he answers, looking somewhere under short boy’s eyes and he believes him. 

  
  


“no won, i  _ am  _ listening to you, i just accidentally turned the mute button on.” jihoon says trying to balance the three books soonyoung gave him to put back in the library  _ ‘nothing about ghosts in these either’ _ . “you were telling me about your date with mingyu.”

“it wasn’t a date !” his friend almost screams on the other side of the line. 

“right, sorry, your totally platonic hang out where you held hands and bought matching phone cases.”

“so you  _ were _ listening, good to know.”

“that’s what i just said.. nevermind. so, what else happened ?”

“he kissed my cheek goodbye. what do you think that means ?”

“i don’t know won, what do you think when i kiss your cheek goodbye ?” he asks, sarcastically although he knows his friend won’t be able to read between the lines. he walks back up the stairs to soonyoung’s room. 

“you don’t.”

“exactly my point.” there’s a silence for a second as the boy lets himself fall on the bed only startling the witch a little. 

“maybe it was a friendly kiss ?”

“jesus, wonwoo” jihoon groans and turns to the other boy in the room. “yah, kwon soonyoung” the boy turns to him as he hears his other friend repeat  _ “no, no, no, no, no” _ over the line. “does mingyu kiss your cheek goodbye ?” soonyoung looks thoughtful for a second, contemplating the question.

“not really. he hugs us at most but he only tries to kiss us when he’s drunk, like, shitfaced drunk.”

he only hears wonwoo’s “i hate you so much” before he hungs up. 

“did they go on their non-date ?” the witch asks as he continues to look through different books for any trace of what could have brought the ghost to jihoon.

“yep. they held hands and everything.” he answers, playing with one of the many plushies in the other boy’s bed. 

“god they’re so painful to watch.” 

“yeah like imagine being so obvious about your crush, holding hands with him, going dates with him and still wonder if he actually likes you back ?”

“ridiculous.”

“ridiculous.” he repeats. 

and they’re right.

jihoon sleeps over that night, he easily convinces his mom, saying they have to work on a project and it’s not all a lie but. she doesn’t need to know. dinner is different this time because soonyoung’s sisters brought their girlfriends : sooyoung and jiwoo on one side of the table, hyejoo and gowon on another, jungeun and her mother on another and soonyoung and jihoon on the last one. it’s awkward as hell at first, all the unfamiliar eyes on him, almost expecting. after spending so much time with jungeun, sooyoung and hyejoo around he’s been able to grow more comfortable around them but strangely, seeing them with their girlfriends makes the boy more nervous than anything. he manages to calm down a little when soonyoung puts in hand on his thigh, reassuringly. he finds himself wondering when that motion became so familiar. he decides to stop wondering when, why or how anything that happens around soonyoung happens. 

“so jihoon i hear you like music ?” it’s not an odd question  _ per se _ , because it’s a well known fact in school that jihoon is a music kid. but how did jiwoo, soonyoung’s sister’s girlfriend who’s in college, “hear” about it. again, he tries not to think about it too much. 

“hm, yeah, you could say that” he tries not to let his embarrassment from being the center of attention show. “i’d like to study music production in college”. 

“that’s great ! have you written any song ?” she answers, interest peaked. he answers, that yes, he has as he observes the loving stare sooyoung gives her girlfriend. he realises that’s a common point she shares with her siblings : their eyes reflect every single emotion they feel,  _ especially _ love. they continue talking about their plans for the future and jihoon is too focused on explaining that he had thought about joining a company to become an idol but he likes sleeping and eating too much to notice that soonyoung is looking at him the same way his sisters look at their girlfriends. 

so let this night be unlike others,

and let the noble show their colors,

and let the meek and cowards run,

for now the moon seeks out her sun,

and by the power that is three,

so as I will it, so mote it be"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am SO sorry for being mia for so long :< i promise i'll try not to disappear again i just really couldn't find it in me to finish this chapter ! but i did it yay !! i hope you guys enjoy this :( it wasn't proofread so pls tell me if you see any mistales ! feedback is always appreciated !!
> 
> find me on twt : s8ngyus !


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